Police, Fire & Courts

Former Ocean County Teacher Sentenced to Parole for Relationship With Student

by
Daniel Nee
February 28, 2025

Douglas Bollinger (Photo: Ocean County Jail)

A former teacher at the Ocean County Performing Arts Academy has been sentenced to probation and will have to register as a sex offender following a guilty plea in connection with a relationship he carried on with a student. Prosecutors said complications related to the case prevented them from pursuing more serious charges.

Douglas Bollinger, 57, of Neptune City, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Dina M. Vicari to parole supervision for life relative to his previously-entered guilty plea to endangering the welfare of a child. Vicari also ordered that Bollinger be subject to the terms of Megan’s Law as well as Nicole’s Law, which permanently prohibits him from having any contact with his victim. Bollinger was also permanently barred from any future public employment and teaching certifications in the state of New Jersey.

Bollinger pled guilty to the charge before Vicari on Nov. 18, 2024.

According to prosecutors, an investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit revealed that between February 2019 and August 2019, Bollinger – while employed in his official capacity as a teacher at the Ocean County Performing Arts Academy – engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with a student in both Point Pleasant Beach and Asbury Park.

On Aug. 15, 2024, Bollinger was taken into custody without incident at his residence by the United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail, and subsequently released pursuant to the state’s bail reform law.

“Issues in the course of this investigation created challenges in the state’s ability to prove more serious charges against this defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. The victim is cognizant of those issues, and is in support of this resolution,” Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. “As part of the resolution in this case, the defendant has been ordered to permanently forfeit his teaching license. Given the nature of the allegations, it was imperative to ensure that Bollinger will never again be in a position of supervisory authority over students.”